David Obey: “Twenty-four. How time flies. I served with Charlie for all of the time that he has served here. I want to say as one…”

“Twenty-four. How time flies. I served with Charlie for all of the time that he has served here. I want to say as one Member to another that I will miss him greatly. He has brought wit, he has brought compassion, he has brought tough-mindedness, he has brought fair-mindedness, and he has brought a passion for excellence to this Congress which we are never in an oversupply of. I simply want to say that I think whether the issue has been the Middle East or whether the issue has been taking care of the needs of children, or meeting our complicated responsibilities on the economic front, Charlie Wilson has always had the courage to defend what he regarded as American interest. I appreciate that fact and also appreciate the way he has gone about doing his job for as long as he has been a part of this body. I also want to say very clearly that, if it had not been for Charlie Wilson, America would not have experienced a foreign policy success in Afghanistan. I cannot recall another occasion which has been so dramatic. Virtually single-mindedly, Charlie Wilson persisted and persevered and demanded after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan that we help the forces in that country who were trying to continue the resistance. I remember children who were blown apart by that war being brought to this country by Charlie. I remember seeing several of them in my office.…”